Oil-tank separator



Feb 25, Y1930, l.1. u. DAvlT'r ET AL I1,748,541

.. oIL TANK SEPARATOR Filed umn 27, 1929 2 lsham-sheet 1 s s f 'fm /14 E Half/rd A orney' O Feb. 25,v 1930. J. L. DAvlTT Er AL 157485541 vovIL TANK sEPARAToR Y Filed aaron 27, 1929 2 ShetS-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 25, 1930 UNITED fsTATEs PATENT OFFICEi JOHN L. DAVITT AND NORMAN K'. nANKs,A or DUKE CENTER, PENNSYLVANIA OIL-TANK snPARAroR Application med March 27, 1929. serial No. 350,280.

This invention relates to an improved appliance constructed for installation in yoil containing tanks, said appliance being constructed to provide what may be broadly defined as a separator and the same functioning automatically to separate oil and water.

What we contemplate is a simplified and economical separator for installation yinside of the tank wherein the separator is so made as to separate the water from the oil, to carry the Water to a suitable source of discharge and to vallow the oil to overflow into the con- 'the outset of this description that we are aware of the fact that the principle upon which the separator works has, of course, been used in this and other oil fields from time immemorial.

The novelty in the present improvement is predicated upon the use of a separator within the storage tank and the making of the separator of inner and outer cylindrical receptacles, the separating of the water and oil taking place in the inner receptacle, and the separated oil flowing from the-inner receptacle to an encasing` outer receptacle to there operate as an insulating sheathing of oil. The result is that freezing in cold weather would be obviated. This would effect a saving of tanks and pipe lines by preventing the eflicient separation of oil from` water, a certain temperature must be achieved or maintained. We hope to show that by this process the geo-thermal quality of earth heat of the fluid is preserved to a degree which promotes separation 'of all but twenty one-hundredths of one per-cent'of water and that this is accomplished in aA purely automatic manner which is entirely new.

VIn the drawings: I Y Figure 1 is a sectional view ofan ordinary oil storage containing tank, showing the improved oil and water separating device located therein. f Y

' Figure 2 is a view in section and elevation through the separator per se.. f Figure?) is a top-plan vieW of Figure 2.. In Figure 1, thereference character 4 des-y ignates an ordinary oily storage tank having the usual entrance opening in vits top. --The improved'se'parator which is arranged centrally therein is generally designatedV by the reference character 6;

- Referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that thisA separator comprises an outer cylindrical receptacle 7 andan inner cylindrical-re` ceptacle 8, defining anannular sustaining and insulating space 9 there-between. The upperend of thel innerreceptacle extends abovethe corresponding end of the outer Vone as indicated at 10. The reference character 11 designates a normal oil level line.

- The reference character 13 designates a pipe connected with a depending branch pipe- 14E, which extends down into the inner recep-` tacle 8 for delivering the. mixture of oil and water lfrom the, pump (not shown). Also located in this receptacle is a water discharge pipe, whose intake end is close tothe bottoin of the receptacle. The upper end is connected-Withfan outlet pipe 15, which is in turn connected with a discharge pipe for carrying the lwater to a suitable sourceof discharge or deposit. This pipe 16`is located in a plane space fills to a column of sufficient height to overflow into tank 4 by way of the overiiow or outlet device 17.

It is submitted that the improvement and refinement herein shown and described serves to produce a contribution to this art which, we believe, is an achievement beyond prior art devices.

It has been found that by conning the separator within the oil tank, said separator not being subjected directly to the outside temperature is not likely to freeze or get out of order. Consequently, it operates automatically and without attention. It will thus be seen that the outer tank 7 serves to insulate the inner water tank Sand in this manner the inner tank is protected during freezing weather.

The piping arrangement embodied in the separator construction is such as to insure proper action and by surrounding the inside of the receptacle with a column of oil, the separating action is seldom, if ever, interfered with even in extremely cold areas. It

is further obvious that by separating thewa- Ater from the oil, the oil containing capacity of the tank is increased, as the water is entirelyT dispensed with. Further, that by eliminating water from the tank itself, loss of oil is avoided when water is drawn therefrom as wasnecessary by the old manual method. And finally, by preserving the ground heat of the fluids and thus producing more perfect separation of oil and Water, freezing either in the tanks or lines of water or an emulsion of water and oil is entirely eliminat-ed.

These and other advantages and features of the invention have doubtless been made apparent from the description and drawings. Therefore a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in the shape, size, and rearrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

We claim:

l. In a tank separator of the class described, inner and outer spaced receptacles, an oil overflow pipe affording communication between the ends of said receptacles, an oil overflow and discharge device carried by the out-er receptacle and located in a plane with said overflow pipe, and a water discharge pipe leading from the inner receptacle and including an outlet on a plane below said oil overflow pipe.

2. In a tank separator of the class described, inner and outer receptacles spaced apart and defining an inner oil and water separating chamber, and an outer and surrounding oil containing chamber, means for delivering the mixture of oil and water to the inner receptacle, a water discharge pipe in -said inner receptacle, having its intake end tures.

JOHN L. DAVITT. NORMAN K. HANKS.

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